Sergeant Uriel Goldberg, Paul Young and Jackie Herman

On Tuesday 24th September, the Year 9 boys were treated to a presentation from Sergeant Uriel Goldberg of the IDF. He is currently the Liaison Officer for the Magen David Adom which is the first response ambulance service in Israel. He is also an alumnus of Hasmonean Boys’ School.

He shared footage of one of his military operations in Lebanon as well as explaining to the boys how some technology devised by Magen David Adom is now being sought after here in the UK.

The boys were glued to every word he said and asked pertinent questions about the laws of conflict. It was a most uplifting experience and we look forward to welcoming Sergeant Goldberg back very soon.

On the same day, the Year 10 boys were addressed by two incredible individuals: Paul Young and Jackie Herman who were born exactly on the same day and year as each other – one in Vienna and one in Austria.

When Jackie was two and half years old, he was liberated from the Theresienstadt death camp: he was one of the youngest survivors. He lost his entire family in the Shoah. He was sent to England and the Herman family lived in the apartment next door.

The two boys went to the same school, the same Shul and they even had their Bar Mitzvahs on the same day.

They have shared their stories with countless schools – Jewish and Non-Jewish – aiming to arm teenagers with more knowledge of the horrors of the war and the subsequent hope for a brighter future. The entire Year 10 group were spellbound for the entire presentation.

May Hashem give these two living legends the strength to be able to return to Hasmonean many more times in good health.